Saturday, October 1, 2016

Top 5 Ways to Build Language Skills while Playing Mini Golf!

You know that it is important to work with your child on language development... but sitting down doing flashcards or worksheets would make both of you miserable.

There's a better way!! You can use fun, everyday opportunities and activities, like Mini Golf, to develop your child's language skills.

Mini Golf Day was just a little bit ago, but don't worry, they open the courses all year (at least here in sunny Central Florida!!) I took my family out to do a little language building and club swinging and we had a great time.

Some of the skills we reviewed once, other's we needed to talk about on every hole (obviously we'll need to keep working on it!)

It all started with a little alligator feeding! We discussed the sizes of the alligators and worked on decision making. Which alligator would you feed?!

From there, we selected our golf balls. This was a great opportunity to talk about colors. I was soooo drawn into the large bowl of colorful balls. They were beautiful! I had to select the red one!! I love red!

Then, we went over the rules. We discussed what the rules are and why they are important! Rule following is a very important language skill, from simple one step directions ("put that ball down!" and "stay out of the water!!") to more complex directions ("put the ball down then step up to it so that it sits between your feet"). There are lots of opportunities to work on all kinds of directions when you are playing mini golf!

One of my favorite things we did while playing mini golf was the scavenger hunt challenge they have for a prize at the end. On the score pad there is a little list of things to look for while you play. Not only does that work on long term memory (you have to remember to look), but it's a great way to have a vocabulary lesson! We talked about shields, mummies, jewels and canoes!

Every hole has the opportunity to talk about location concepts (also known as prepositions or prepositional phrases). We putted our balls between rocks, around tree, under waterfalls and over hills. And we got to practice saying the phrases, too! "NOOOO!!! Go AROUND - AROUND - AROUND the rock!!" Too bad the balls did not listen very well. Sigh!

But the skill that we worked on the most was a social skill - self control. Each time Big Sister approached the ball, she'd walk up, swing wildly and then get frustrated that it didn't go where she had hoped. So we got her to slow down, stand still for a few seconds to line up the ball, swing the club back with control and follow through. It was hit-or-miss on whether or not it actually went where she wanted it but it was closer to where she wanted!

So, from decision making, colors, rule following, location concepts and self control, plus just good ol' fashion fun, there's so much language you can do while you play mini golf!

Are you ready to go mini golfing with your kids? Let me know how it goes and what language skills you work on!!

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About Me

I am a certified Speech Language Pathologist and a mom.
I partner with families and provide tools, tips and techniques to help their child improve communication.
I have been serving students with special needs for more than 12 years. My passion for communication really lies in working with parents, teachers, caregivers and others who are interacting with typically developing children to children who have communication needs. I love to teach and share, to bounce ideas off of others, to learn from parents what makes their child shine and go from there. I hope to share some things that will inspire you as you work with, play with, grow with your child.